The Beginning of the Yorkshire Terrier in England and the United States

If you are looking for a tiny dog with the spirit of a1850s. The weight fell between 5 and 18 pounds. The
much bigger terrier, the Yorkshire Terrier most certainlyclasses they were shown in were: Broken-haired
fits this description. Despite the Yorkshire Terrier's tinyScotch, Scotch Terriers, Blue and Fawn Terriers or
size of just a few pounds, this dog is lively and thinksYorkshire Terriers. At the time the English divided the
of himself as much larger than he is.approved breeds at the time into two groups: The
The Yorkie's background goes back to the 18thSporting Group and the Non-Sporting Group. The
century. During this time of the Industrial Revolution inYorkshire breed was placed in the Non-Sporting
England, many Scotsmen left their country for theGroup. However, the dogs were still shown in the
south. They looked for work in the mills in England.various classes of Scotch Terriers, Blue and Fawn
They brought their families and also their dogs. TheTerriers among whatever other classes the dog
dogs they brought to England during this period wereseemed to fit into. The English Kennel Club recognized
Skye Terriers, Paisley Terriers and Clydesdalethe breed as the Yorkshire Terrier and placed it in the
Terriers. The dogs ranged weight of 6 pounds toToy Group by 1886. The Yorkshire Terrier Club of
nearly 20 pounds. All of these dogs were heavilyEngland was formed in 1898. The Yorkie still reigns in
coated. Some of them had a silky texture. All of themthe top ten breeds in popularity in Britain.
carried blue-tan or gray coat colors.The breed became quickly known in England and had
One of the most common breeds in Yorkshire,numerous supporters. The "Father of the Yorkshire
England at the time was the Waterside Terrier. TheTerrier" was a dog owned by J. Forster and bred by
Waterside Terrier was a blue-gray dog with a longMr. Eastwood of Huddersfield. The dog's name was
coat. The size of this dog was between 6 and 20Huddersfield Ben. Huddersfield Ben sired numerous
pounds. It was a combination of the Skye Terrier,champions for other kennels.
Paisley Terrier and Clydesdale Terrier and formed theThe first Yorkie whelped in the United States was in
present-day Yorkshire Terrier. This Yorkshire Terrier1872. American shows began in 1887. The breed
of today has a long, beautiful coat with silky steel blueclasses were divided by weight: under 5 pounds and
and tan colors. The Yorkshire Terrier is one of theover 5 pounds. Eventually it was decided to have one
smallest dogs in the world and one of the mostweight class for all Yorkies with weight between 3
popular toy breeds.and 7 pounds. There were just too few entries of the
Weavers who worked in the mills liked the Yorkshirelarger sizes to have two different classes. The
Terriers because of their ability to kill rats as quickly asYorkshire Terrier Club of America was formed in 1951.
a terrier, but was small enough to carry in their pocketsThe Yorkshire Terrier is a very popular breed in the
when they went to rat-killing competitions. TheUnited States. Many breeders have contributed to the
weavers desired a small size of the breed, but alsobreed through excellent breeding and outstanding wins.
ones with the toughness and intelligence of the terrier.The Yorkshire Terrier places in the top ten breeds in
This may account for the attitude much bigger thanpopularity of the AKC breeds. It also ranks as the
the actual size a Yorkshire Terrier still possessesnumber-one Toy Dog in America. The little Yorkshire
today.Terrier remains a great favorite to many people.
Yorkies were being shown in England by the earlyThis article is FREE to publish with the resource box.